Is that the promise girl?
by Moshulel
Summary: One summer day, one innocent wish... a whole new world of trouble for Keitaro! Ah My Goddess crossover.
1. Be carefull what you wish for!

Is that… the promise girl?

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the series mentioned in this fic.

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Be carefull what you wish for!

At a desk somewhere in Niffleheim a loud noise was heard.

"I've had it!" was the loud affirmation made by Hild, Queen of Hell. It was official, without time off in almost 2000 years, she was getting frustrated. Even to this day she couldn't stop swearing when she heard Budhha, Jesus or other such names. They just had to add paperwork to her desk, didn't they?

It had taken her almost all her time to partially mend the damage done to her business, but she had had enough. It was time for her to take a long, well deserved vacation… maybe with a few trysts in the middle.

It didn't take long for her to plan it, and though initially she planned on going as herself, she quickly realized that it was not going to happen. Too many treaties were in place for her to be allowed to have some good old fashion fun. Damn those lust demons! They just had to go around and father those tentacle demons didn't they?

With this option out of the list, she approached the situation from a different angle. Just a few moments later as a Chibi Hild was created to tend to a important file, a grin appeared on her face.

In the bowels of Hell, all was quiet, with the exception of the usually tortured souls of course, when shrill laughter was heard.

The demons ducked for cover, the devils started running and the others just started praying, for the last time they heard that laughter… it was snowing in Hell.

* * *

Once her new plan of action was established, Hild wasted no more time. Two volunteers read scared out of their minds demons were explained the plan: 

"You two will accompany me to Earth on my vacation. I'll pretend to be a young girl of five, six years of age and you two will be my 'loving' parents. I selected a place in Japan called the Hinata Inn, the strong magic running there, combined with your presence, should be enough to hide me from any unwanted eyes. Do you have any questions?"

"…"

"Good, we leave in five minutes."

A soon as she finished her words the two demons scrambled to prepare themselves for the 'mission'. Both of them had rather pressing issues to deal with, but when the Queen of Hell says jump… you don't even ask how high.

Four minutes and a few seconds later, both demons were back and ready to go, 'nobody likes to wait, especially not Hild' and with a last transformation on Hild's part, the group was on their way to Earth.

* * *

The arrival went smoothly, if you don't take into account the poor kids whose memory they had to erase because he saw too much. So what if he was going to lose his sense of direction for the rest of his life? It's not like he needed to get somewhere. 

So, after dealing with that small interruption, the group continued their road towards the Hina Inn, with Hild perched on top of one of her employees to avoid 'tiring her feet' as she called it after sighting the stairs leading to the inn.

To an outsider, it might have looked like the perfect family picture, the father carrying the little daughter on his shoulders. But if one would have looked closer, they would have noticed how the 'father' was watching his every step and sweating like mad.

It was shortly after that the 'family' found itself in front of a welcoming old lady who greeted them warmly. "Welcome to the Hinata Inn! I presume you're here for a room?"

"Yes, we'd like to stay here for a few weeks; we'd like to rent two rooms," the 'father' replied, unusually politely for one of his status.

"How wonderful! You are in luck, just a few minutes a couple called and canceled their reservations mumbling something about fried electrical appliances," she told them, not noticing the evil grin on the face of the family 'child'.

It didn't take long for the formalities to be solved, and in just a few minutes the Devlin family was hosted at the Hinata Inn, together with their daughter Hild, though the old lady couldn't understand who would name their child 'Hild' out of all things.

It was so that the Daimakaichou begun her vacation, free to relax as her heart wished for. Everything was perfect and nothing could spoil her time off… or at least that's what she thought, until one child threw a whole bucket of sand at her.

Her first reaction was to zap the insolent twerp, but she managed to reign in her impulse, she wasn't on Earth to do what she did every day! So with an offended expression, the Queen of Hell decided to proceed with her payback the old fashion way, by grabbing a shovel and pouring sand over the other children in the playground.

Thus, Hild started hanging around with the kids there. Being childish was fun! Not to mention that no matter what she did, she just couldn't understand how a certain child could have such a fixation on watermelons. It was as if the kid was a goddess or maybe even a demon, but she felt no such signs around her.

To add to that, she recognized the other kid almost instantly. Keitaro Urashima, he was supposed to invent Nuclear Cold Fission or something, improving life for mankind and giving her yet another headache. But for the moment, she decided to put these thoughts at the back of her mind and just enjoy.

* * *

"Ne, ne! Do you know?" 

It was for the seventh time that she heard the same question from the watermelon loving Mutsumi, and frankly, it was starting to get on her nerves. Thankfully the other child in the playground prevented a serving of microwave Mutsumi by asking a simple question:

"What?" Keitaro asked in a happy voice.

"If two people promise to go together to Toudai, they'll be happy together for the rest of their lives!"

"Oh…" was the almost speechless reply of Keitaro.

"Ne, ne, let's make a promise! Let's promise we'll go to Toudai together!"

At she heard the childish belief, Hild couldn't stop but stifle a laugh, the Okinawan girl was so much fun!

"You too Hild-chan! Promise you'll get into Toudai together with Kei-chan!"

At this, the demon queen looked in disbelief at Mutsumi. Did the girl expect her to believe in fantasies for children?

"Promise Hild-chan!" Mutsumi insisted and soon afterwards Hild caved in, it wasn't like it mattered to her.

By the end of her time on Earth, Hild all but forgot about the stupid promise she made about entering Toudai with Keitaro and what that implied. There was to much fun to be had for her to keep it in mind.

But not all forgot.

* * *

17 years later, Hinata Sou. 

Keitaro was happy, after so many years wasted studying he had finally made it! He passed the tests for Toudai, and only finding out who his promise girl was could make him happier.

As he waited for the opening ceremony to begin, he thought: 'I got into Toudai! Nothing can go wrong now!'

Oh how wrong he was.

A few hours later, as the doctors placed his leg in a cast, the ex-ronin couldn't help feeling cheated. It was as if some unknown divine force was preventing him from entering Toudai! That was the only conclusion he could think of.

For years he was the smartest child in school, a bit clumsy, but still, he managed to create over 100 new recepies for chocolate cake in under one week, yet in his final year of high school his grades plummeted to the ground.

He did his best, he really did, but when the exam came, it was as if every question he marked moved on the paper. But such a thing was impossible, wasn't it?

So he found himself as a ronin, working hard to pass on the second try, learning everything he could for the test, but as luck would have it, the only two history lessons he didn't read were the only thing in that section of the exam.

It was then that his parents' patience dried up, they both tried to convince him to try another college, he could see the point behind their pleas but for some reason, he just couldn't move from getting into Toudai. It was this why he was forced to move at the Hinata Inn.

At first it was shaky relation between him and the girls, especially as they discovered his lie. But he slowly made himself accepted, though many times he wondered which would come first: Naru & Motoko accepting him, or getting a long all expenses paid rest in a padded room.

Then, his third exam came, the first time he actually felt he was somewhat unprepared. The Hinata Sou ate a lot of his study time: the constant need for repairs, Naru & Motoko's attitude towards him, Su's experiments and Kitsune's constant flirting did nothing in that sense. All in all it was as if someone was trying to distract him from studying.

At first when he saw the exam paper, he was surprised about the subjects. They were easy! Which was why he allowed himself to indulge in daydreaming for a bit, only to wake up too late and find out that time was almost up. Yet another botched exam... It didn't help that Naru also failed her exam.

And then, after another year of studying and living with the ladies of Hinata Sou, the fourth exam came up. It was during this time that he got to know the girls the best, met Seta and found his passion for archeology. He couldn't understand some of their behavior, and he was somewhat saddened by the fact that little Shinobu hid something from him. The play at the tea house gave him the perfect opportunity to get closer to Naru, yet it was as if fate itself had something to say. Keitaro wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was getting tired. He wanted more and somehow didn't realize what.

As the fourth exam came, he was almost scared that he would fail again and even made a half assed promise to himself that this was the last time. He was surprised however when the girls found him in Mol Mol and announced to him that he passed the exam. It was the best news he had heard in a long time!

So, as a result he dressed up and prepared for the opening ceremony a few weeks later, confident that he managed to jump all major hurdles only to find himself IN THE HOSPITAL! Him, the invincible Keitaro, entering the hospital, and even worse, with a broken leg! He couldn't even remember the last time he needed an extended stay in the hospital!

It was with these thoughts in mind that Keitaro uttered that infamous phrase, "At least things can't get any worse!"

* * *

Nifleheim. Daimakaichou office. 

Hild was not having a good day. Business was going as usual and she had even seen her wayward daughter for the first time this century, but something was not right.

Ever since she got back from Earth she could feel it, a certain tugging in her mind, a pull to do something, but for all she tries, she just couldn't place her finger on what it was.

It was not the first time she felt it, and at first she suspected it had something to do with her daughter being on Earth. But it made no sense for the pull to get stronger just some times during the year when her daughter was there all the time!

Dismissing her daughter as the reason, Hild decided to search for the reason behind this pull. It was starting to give her a headache.

What had she forgotten that could have such an effect on her?

It was with this in mind that Hild started typing furiously on her work console…

A few hours later, give or take a few minutes: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

As the sound traveled through all Nifleheim, the devils had only one thought: 'We're screwed!'

For you see, while laughing usually meant something bad for them, a yell such as that could mean only one thing: "Not another one!"

Yes, the last time Hild screamed like that was when Jesus was born.

* * *

In her office, the Daimakaichou could only stare in horror at the screen, for on it was something that Hild wouldn't have thought possible… she had granted a wish! And not like any self respecting demon, in exchange for a soul or some other equally rewarding compensation, but for free! 

It was unthinkable! And she was bound by the ultimate force itself to make good on that promise!

Only after a few moments was she able to think again. Wait, she was a demon, that meant some kind of compensation had to be paid! No matter what the screen said, if the kid didn't pay something, anything in return, then she could find a way out!

And so she started reviewing the file of one Keitaro Urashima… Three hours, and a lots of new desks later, she was seething! There was actually payment! The adventures from the last few years would have been a very happy sight for the chaos loving Hild, but it was not the case now, for she had lost all her ways out.

"Honestly…" she started mumbling to herself, "How can one attract so much misfortune! My agents weren't even responsible with this case, and yet… a crazy male hater Kendoka, a S&M queen, a goth, a mad scientist, a drunkard and even a perfect Lolita!"

In the back of her mind she realized just why the boy had that wonderful luck. The Ultimate Force was responsible, trying to keep him away from girls and out of Toudai till she could enter the college with him.

'Let him wait!' would have been her answer in normal circumstances, but as she felt the gentle but increasing pull in her head, she knew that she had to make good on that promise, despite her increasing displeasure at the thought.

Bound to a mortal! Hah! That was more like something Belldandy did, not her!

"Well now Keitaro 'darling'! Ready or not, here I come!" she said just before zapping out of her office and in the human world.

* * *

Somewhere in Tokyo, a few high tech detection instruments sounded the alarm. This was strange, as normally those instruments didn't work even if an abnormal force was feet from them. The only logical conclusion threw the house in chaos! Whatever appeared was well beyond Mara's power. 

Almost immediately Urd picked out the phone and dialed. "My Father please," she asked the receptionist.

"My daughter, what can I do for you?"

"Father, there is a very powerful demon here on Earth, we suspect a breach in the & treaty, protocol m#$#!" Urd nervously explained.

"Oh, is that it?" the celestial Father answered. "There's nothing to worry, daughter! It's just your mother, she granted a wish and now she has to fulfill it." And with that, the Almighty ended the discussion.

It took a few seconds for Urd to register just what her father said:

"Mother granted a wish…"

"Mother NEVER grants any wishes!"

"It's a wish that allows her to stay on Earth…"

"Mother NEVER grants any wishes!"

"What's happening here!?"

A few hours later, Belldandy and Keiichi found a shocked Urd , clutching the phone in her hand, whispering the same words again and again:

"Hild… wish"

* * *

In a bus traveling towards Hinata Sou, Keitaro got a sudden chill on his back. Something bad was coming his way, he just knew it, and being able to perceive it meant only one thing, not even one of his adventures so far could measure up to it. 

The feeling of dread got stronger and stronger as the bus approached his station and for a moment Keitaro asked himself if he really wanted to get down from the bus. But in the end, he ignored what his instincts were yelling at them and stepped down. It wasn't as if they helped him before!

A few minutes earlier at the Hinata Sou…

The girls were having a normal day, well a normal day if you ignore the fact that all of them anxiously waited for Keitaro's return even though none of them would have admitted it to the others, except maybe Shinobu. But then again, they all knew of her crush on the clumsy manager, so it wouldn't have been such a big surprise.

It was in this tense atmosphere that a loud bang was heard outside; drawing the girls from their thoughts and making them rush to the door.

Outside, in what looked like the remains of the Hinata porch was a dangerous looking woman, dressed in something out of a pervert's most sordid fantasies. It took a few minutes for the girls to recover from the sight, but when they did, a torrent of questions followed:

"Who are you?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Are you looking for Urashima?"

For the first time in millennia, the Queen of Hell found herself in a position where she wasn't the one asking the questions. Despite her desire to use her powers and make these girls shut up, permanently, she knew better than that. Instead she decided to calm down and take a good look at the girls. They were exactly as she expected them to be.

Motoko: the traditional samurai, hadn't anybody told this girl that most samurai were male?

Naru: the S&M queen, what a nice addition she'd make.

Kitsune: reminded her of her daughter, same flirtatious nature and love for drinks.

Su: she wondered if the girl was somehow related to Skuld.

Shinobu: a nice little girl, if you liked a future Belldandy in training! Action had to be taken Hild decided.

And finally, the cause of all her misfortune:

Mutsumi: the watermelon lover, the girl who was to blame for that ridiculous promise.

Then something happened she hadn't expected:

"Ara, ara! Hild-chan, you came back!" the Okinawan girl exclaimed.

The surprise couldn't have been more obvious on Hild's face even if it would have been drawn on with a marker.

How did Mutsumi remember her? The system should have made sure that her presence here would be nothing more than a blur to those who had met her. Besides, at that time, they were small children, no more than five-seven years old! It was just another piece to the mystery that was Mutsumi.

* * *

It was the sound of voices that greeted Keitaro as he made his last steps on the stairs towards Hinata Sou. He was a bit tired from having to climb them in his condition, but he instantly became curios. 

What could make the girls as loud as they were? Especially when he was nowhere near them to be at fault.

As he finally made that last step, he found his answer. Surrounded by the girls was a beautiful exotic woman wearing a bored expression on her face. A bored expression that is, until her eyes met his. In that moment her expression changed, and for some strange reason Keitaro was reminded of a feline playing with her prey.

With slow, deliberate steps, the platinum haired woman made her way to Keitaro, while he was feeling a strong need to run away and the girls looked on with curiosity.

"What did you do to this woman, pervert!?" Naru was a bit surprised by the way the woman acted.

"Ara, ara! Don't you remember Hild-chan, Kei-kun?

'Hild-chan?'

"Who… who… are you?" he tried to ask, before the woman opened her mouth, and with it, the gates of Hell, "Hello darling!"

* * *

What reaction can we expect from the girls? Is there more chaos in store for Keitaro? Are we going to see Urd-chan? 

Honestly… I have no idea, but we'll see all that, and maybe Tsuruko too, next chapter.

A/N: The idea for this fic came to me after a chat with some nice fellows from TFF, especially EagleCeres, who determined me to write this, for which I thank him.

V2. Now with proper grammar thanks to the editing of Ghost in the Machine. Thanks mate!


	2. Really? A new record!

Disclaimer: Don't own money making series. _  
_

---

He never felt the need to lock his bathing quarters before. There was no false modesty or fear of peaking perverts to cause such a reaction as the other residents well aware of the purpose of the room. Not even Su bothering him, usually, sometimes, hopefully! Incidents with the various Mecha Tama prototypes were not that easy to forget after all. But this day was rather different, the two new additions to the Inn making him rather fearful for his own person.

There was a thick layer of sweat on his body, dirt in the most odd of places, and even a leaf or two tucked away behind his ears, almost in defiance of his previous efforts to relieve himself of the numerous souvenirs he had managed to collect during the day.

"Well," ever the optimist, he tried convincing the invisible audience of a rather questionable issue, "It could have been worse!"

He neatly folded his dirty clothes into a corner, a fresh change and a couple of clean towels waiting on a small cabinet, a rather insightful preparations he meticulously tended to every time he took a bath, especially after realizing that the odds for survival in the case of a 'Keitaro Roninus' specimen plummeted down spectacularly the moment he asked for a towel, of dared venture outside this 'bath' without clothes on his person.

'Perhaps I should keep a rule book?' was a thought that frequently crossed his mind, before realisation dawned again, 'I don't have the money to buy that much paper!'

As he submitted himself to a bucket of cold water, he was rather pleased to notice that the numbness in his body didn't signify the end of perception for his tactile sense. It did however mean that he could blame the shiver attacking him on the water's temperature, because really, what was there to cause such a reaction? Denying instincts was quite a second nature for Keitaro, and the loud screaming in the back of his head was ignored, no matter the shape it came under.

A good soaping later, and the liberal use of shampoo to wash the much abused hair, and he felt clean again, 'For how long?', the voice at the back of his head was asking, or rather, stating a fact proven by the young man's tenure at the Hinata Inn. Another quick bucket of cold water, making himself feel alive again and he was ready for a proper soaking. It wasn't a proper furo, but hey! It was his.

"Nothing like a good bath," it was a pleased expression that Keitaro wore on his face as he allowed himself the embrace of the hot water in his so called bath. His sour body was soothed by the water, his mind relaxed at the sensation. And after a day such as the one he had, that was in rather short supply.

--

"Who… who… are you?" he tried to ask, before the woman opened her mouth, and with it, the gates of Hell.

"Hello darling!"

"Errr... dar.r.r.r.l.i.n.g?" the nervous manager struggled formulating a reply to the sexy bombshell claiming to be his promise girl. Never in his wildest dreams would he have suspected his promise girl was actually a foreigner! But the claim was reinforced by Mutsumi's words, and Mutsumi never lied. "Do, err - I," he tried voicing the questions plaguing his mind once more, without any notable success, already feeling the eyes of the Hinata girls boring holes into his skull.

"Oh no!" Hild falsely cried, a pout so out of place emerging on her face contradicting her stunning looks, "My Kei-chan doesn't remember me!"

Crocodile tears appeared on her face joining the pout into offering a display few beings in existence, or indeed at the end of their existence managed to witness, "Oh, my wasted life!"

"Ara?" There was an expression of wonder on Mutsumi's face as she looked fondly at the two, "That's not nice Kei-kun, Hild-chan was so excited about the promise!" for those that knew the Okinawan and were paying attention to her at the moment it was a rather strange sight. The usually bubbly Mutsumi was almost upset? At the same time nobody noticed the exasperated look that flashed on the Daimaichou's face, the demon suddenly finding her thoughts revolving around ways to vanish all watermelons from Earth.

Payback was coming for Mutsumi, and Hild didn't like to leave a score unsettled. And certainly not when it concerned her.

"KeI-ta-Ro," a vicious snarl and a voice filled with barely restrained rage roused Keitaro from his state of confusion. There was anger, resentment, fury, and all of them were directed at him, the fiery red aura visible with the naked eye around Narusegawa, everything about the girl's posture screaming 'Danger! Please prepare for Naru Air.'

"You... PERVERT!" Dash! Start! The brunette finally exploded, her fist connecting with his remarkably resilient jaw, in just a few seconds Keitaro attempting once more to surpass a personal record of his.

In the background, several commentators started to analyse the performance.

"And is the Hinata manager finally going to break the sound barrier and his personal best of 2732 meters? Or is he going to run short of the goal yet again?"

"Well, given the velocity and the angle of impact, this might be it folks! A new Keitaro record!"

"Noooooooooooooooooo!" the voice of the former ronin could be heard across the city, the people of the town, long used to this display of virtuosity proudly saluting Hinata's best son as he sailed above them.

At the inn, there was only silence, Hild's appreciative gaze after the flying ronin soon dispelled as she turned towards the Hina girls, her eyes fixed on Naru.

---

Any pilot will tell you that landing is an art in itself, the subtle manipulation of the throttle, the gentle caress of the machine and for some the quick prayer as they begin their approach towards the landing strip, all rituals designed to take one home safely. For Keitaro, it was a rather painful art, but at least he got one part straight; praying.

It was always the same, a recital for the ears of divinity, a shower of praise and faith in the Almighty as his lips froze in the cold air, his eyes witness to a view that many would envy him for. It wasn't once that he thought about organizing some trips over the city, fresh air, tranquillity, peace of mind, all great selling points, but he somehow doubted that others would survive the experience.

Once again he was lucky, the branches and trunks of several trees slowing him down in his descent, barely a three meter wide crater left in the pavement to mark the impact point of his landing. Somehow, and it would forever remain a mystery to Keitaro, even though he much appreciated it, no nests or animals found themselves in his path. That is, if you didn't count the winged rats that made it a habit to present him with a rather obnoxious offering each time they found themselves in his proximity after one of such landings.

Brushing away the dirt from his clothes and trying to remove the mouthful of grass currently filling his mouth, Keitaro couldn't help but sigh at the carnage. "Great," he complained, "Now I'm going to get complaints for remodelling the landscape without permission. Again!"

Some people were surely making a fortune out of his misery! He could almost see the smug grins on the faces of all those bureaucrats and their greedy paws.

"There goes that trip to Kyoto."

All in all it wasn't as if seven ancient trees, two lampposts and one small crater were his best 'performance', but they were surely going to cost him. And the premium on his insurance was bound to get higher now; soon he was going to end up having to take up that offer for advertising. It would take a while to handle a banner interfering with his flight, but if it had to be done...

As he finally forced himself and his damaged leg to make the trip home, he never noticed the calculated look of a strange woman.

---

Tsuruko Aoyama had a rather interesting day for herself. She was here to deliver judgement on her sister's progress with a sword and see if she was fit to continue the family tradition. Yet halfway towards the Hina Inn, her objective changed, strong demonic miasma clouding her senses.

She knew that the strange man landing in the park had to be a demon, there was no way a normal human could survive this! With this in mind, she made her decision.

"Die! Demon!" she whispered, a quick slash of her sword releasing a wave of purifying ki at the entity. It was dishonourable of her to do something as such, but she had to be done with it as fast as possible.

And nothing happened.

"Huh?!" the famed master of the Aoyama school, the woman never defeated in combat, the gracious scion of a noble samurai house simply gawked at the walking man. Seven seconds later, seven more than what a proud warrior such as herself would have needed to regroup and plan she rushed after the man.

"Hey, wai..." she never managed to finish her words. The master of the sword, the martial artist of international recognition tripped on a pebble, her hands, desperate for support, grabbing the hem of the man's pants.

Keitaro never enjoyed walking back towards the Inn from his impromptu 'trips'. Especially not now, with his leg in a cast and nothing to support his injured leg. And then it got chilly.

"What the?" the words left his mouth as his pants and underwear were forcefully removed from his person, exposing some rather sensitive parts of his anatomy to the world at large.

With a certain amount of dread and apprehension, the manager dared look behind him.

Woman? Check.

Sword? Check.

Weird bird behind her? Check.

Woman holding my pants? Check.

Now, normally such a situation would have been followed by some rather meek response from the former ronin, his usual experiences in similar situations not too fortunate. But this time, the reaction was rather... different. With his mind suffering a shock too many, the manager could only yell one word, one he was awfully familiar with.

"Pervert!"

Naturally, his second reaction had to respect the Universal Law of Murphy. Trying to move away from the still shocked woman, and, in a somewhat ironic situation, escape the pervert and protect his innocence, Keitaro tripped as well, his head meeting the pavement once more, plunging him into blissful oblivion. And perhaps it was for the best, for the hand of the former ronin managed, against all odds, to land on the bound chest of the samurai woman.

Not even that was enough to stir the woman from her shock, her mistake against all that she was. "How did I..?" she finally managed to ask, noticing at long last the hand on her chest and the man sprawled on the ground. Suppressing her initial reaction and the urge to remove her sword from its sheath, the samurai woman gently removed Keitaro's hand, then moved to turn him around and get him dressed again just an appreciative raise of her eyebrows betraying the quick look she took at his, ahem, attributes.

"Now," after making sure his pants and boxers were where they belonged she placed his head in her lap, "What am I going to do with you?" his wallet, retrieved as she was dressing him revealed his name and address, surprise coming over her features, "My, my, it seems that we had the same destination all along!"

Now, if she could only explain the nefarious aura that surrounded this man before the wave of purified ki dispelled it! There was no way one such as he could generate it, she could see it clearly now, but what sort of demon could torment this innocent soul? She had to find out! For the safety of this man, and for the safety of her sister.

Her decision made, Tsuruko threw the man over her shoulder, intent on carrying him to the Inn.

---

Let it not be claimed that Motoko Aoyama has a habit of pacing on the roof under the guise of practice. No! One would make a grievous mistake in believing such a fact, all evidence pointed to the contrary, the timed steps, and the focus in her eyes as she looked at the steps leading to the inn all part of her rigorous training regiment. And what cause would she have to waste valuable training time? Surely, such a ridiculous thought wouldn't cross anyone's mind! All she was doing was training! Sole witness to this scene, her sword, still sheathed and untouched was ready to lay testimony in confirmation.

In her room, pouring over her text books, Naru was disconnected from reality. So what if the pervert found his promised girl? So what if she was fit to be a supermodel? Or perhaps she was one already? It didn't matter to her, not even in the slightest! Why should it? It's not like she had feelings for that pervert. Perish the thought! The day she felt anything for that perverted swine of a man would surely signal Armageddon. And what were the odds of that happening? Why, no sooner than that the devil would walk on Earth, and who in his right mind would believe such hog wash?

In the sanctity of her own room/laboratory/jungle, the Molmolian princess was not troubled by such thoughts. Indeed, her mind was focused on matters of life and death, survival or extinction, chaos and order, evolution or entropy! It was one thing to be concerned over one hapless manager, another entirely to be concerned about the dwindling banana supplies at her disposal. For some reason it seemed as if they had started to mysteriously vanish and she couldn't find the cause! As she worked at her response to this challenge, a new Mecha Tama to be tested on Keitaro, she reminded herself to take out the garbage from her room, there was hardly any space left in the bin for banana peels!

Despite her initial thoughts on getting to 'know' the new girl better, Kitsune found herself faced with an impressive opposition from Mutsumi. Somehow, the watermelon girl managed to outmanoeuvre and outsmart her, convincing the fox into returning to her own room and allow some time for her to catch up with her old friend. And for some odd reason, it didn't even seem as if Mutsumi was consciously pushing for that, but she just couldn't refuse the woman. It didn't speak well for her skills if Mutsumi, of all people, managed to pull her strings without even a minor conscious effort. And besides, it was getting dark outside, with no sign of Keitaro yet, so there went her source of entertainment for the evening.

There wasn't much to do in the kitchen, all dishes clean, everything tucked away where it belonged, not a speck of dust anywhere. Yet, for some unfathomable reason the miniature cook of the house kept herself busy. Cooking a full course meal? No problem! Doing those fancy western recipes and catching the taste right? All in a day's work. Scraping a meal together from only a handful of ingredients? Not a challenge. Boiling water if your name was Shinobu Maehara and you were anxiously peeking out the window? Impossible!

As if she wasn't aware of all the feelings swirling in the house, Hild was enjoying, and the term must be used in its most loose interpretation, a cup of tea with the source of her problems, a nemesis she hadn't even suspected existed before the events of this day. Her! The smiling watermelon eating girl that was smiling as if the ruler of hell itself wasn't two paces away. As if Hild wasn't planning her revenge and utter torment in retribution. She wondered what the girl had to say for all the trouble she had stirred.

"A slice of watermelon?"

---

From her position atop the building, Motoko was the first to spot them, "Ah, that perverted fiend finally returns!" the words left her mouth out of instinct, the fact that it felt easier to breathe totally unrelated with them.

"Wait.." she could tell something was wrong, her eye quickly picking up the fact that it wasn't the manager returning on his own two feet climbing the stairs to the inn with great speed. In fact, and a feeling of dread suddenly overcame her, it seemed as if he was being carried by somebody else, and a lump started forming in her throat, a woman, her movements as gracious as those of... 'Aneue!' her traitorous mind provided the answer her lips couldn't form.

The word ignited a fear the likes of which Motoko hadn't experienced in years, enough to make her almost cower under the feeling and run away to hide in a cave! Despite all this, her feet took another path. Step by step, with all her willpower focused behind her progress, she was heading towards the stairs. Finally, a compromise was reached by the conflicting parts of her brain, "Who knows what that pervert did to my sister!" the resulting argument drove her forward, a temporary solution to the struggle.

From the kitchen, as focused as she was on the boiling water, the nth attempt for the day, Shinobu was the second to spot the manager, "Sempai?" there was a tremble in her voice as she witnessed an unknown woman carrying what was obviously a very unconscious manager. Unlike other residents of the inn, there was no factor detaining her from rushing to the front door, storming through the living room and disturbing the silence of the 'catching up' process between Hild and Mutsumi. To say that her timely intervention didn't save innocent watermelon fields across the world would, of course, be a lie.

"Ara!" Mutsumi was quick to follow the example set by Shinobu, her steps unusually vigorous for the normally anaemic woman, "Kei-kun's back!"

The smile almost blinded Hild.

"Come Hild-chan! There's so much you need to catch up with him!" and again, something totally characteristic for the Okinawan occurred, her arm grabbing that of Hild in a strong grip, almost dragging the demoness behind her. Once again, Hild wondered about throwing caution to the wind and frying the human that was toying with her such.

Usually, for Tsuruko, accustomed to more tiresome training routines, climbing the hill to the Hinata Inn wouldn't have been much of a challenge. But after tugging along an unmoving passenger. Somehow managing to get lost for the first time in her life and at the end of it all face the countless stairs leading to the inn, even her stamina had its limits. By the time she reached the end of the stairway, her breath was laboured, and a bead of perspiration was running down her face.

"We're here, Manager-san," she spoke to her passenger, preparing herself for whatever it was to come. And it didn't take long to come.

"Sempai!"

---

"Found out what's wrong?" Keiichi asked his concerned girlfriend as she struggled to make the sleeping Urd comfortable. The earlier shock had left the goddess in a state of chaos and now she was sleeping off the shock and the following attempt to define new records in alcohol consumption.

"No, for some reason Father isn't saying anything, just that Hild is fulfilling a wish on Earth," for anyone not knowing Bell, the words would have sounded peaceful, melodious; her face an epitome of serenity, but Keiichi was different. Years spent living together with the goddesses had taught him to notice certain signs. And Bell was definitely worried.

"Mom... wish..." Urd started mumbling in her sleep, her face portraying different expressions of horror and shock, "Mom... WISH!" she yelled, suddenly wide awake, her eyes scanning the room for occupants before they set upon Keiichi.

"Keiichi," she started, her voice chilly, "Please tell me I had a bad dream and that my mother isn't on Earth at this very moment!" the gaze she directed at him enough to make the young man nodding in confirmation.

"Urd-chan!" Belldandy was quick to interfere, "You're scaring Keiichi!" Mother Bell mode engaged, prepare seatbelts.

"But Bell-chan!" Urd was quick to catch on to her sister's mood, suddenly enhanced by a heavy dose of Hild related paranoia, "You couldn't lie about it, at least let me have this comfort!" she pouted, caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Nee-chan!" the typhoon named Skuld opened the doors to the room, preventing further conversation. Covered in soot and oil, she wore a pleased smile on her face, "I finally repaired the alarms! They should..." the wail of the alarms interrupted her.

"Fixed indeed," Keiichi muttered as the noise threatened to shatter all windows.

---

_A/N: Responsibility for the above text belongs to Lord Raa, he convinced me that even injustice machines deserve a B-day present and I obliged. Many thanks for the time spent pre reading this mate!_

Suggestions, comments, seizures? All welcome.


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